GLA Civil Society and Sport Unit Feasibility Review Facilitator
PROCESS
Facilitation
Strategic Process
The Greater London Authority (GLA) Civil Society and Sport Unit works to improve the lives of Londoners by supporting the civil society and community sport sectors in London. In October 2023, the Strategy and Partnerships (S&P) team identified the potential benefits of a co-productive review of its approach, led by an independent facilitator.
As the Unit sought to develop a future work plan, the S&P team wanted to adopt a more strategic approach.
The Project Brief
Our Approach
We drew on our interdisciplinary thinking skills, along with our expertise in the civil society sector and knowledge of London, to guide the unit through four rounds of engagement, employing a creative facilitation approach throughout. Each round included interactive and co-productive workshops (online and in-person). Participants were encouraged to be curious, inclusive, open-minded, constructive, and, crucially, collaborative. We reviewed and adapted our methodology between each round of engagement to inform the subsequent round.
GLA commissioned us to facilitate and lead the unit through a strategic process in Nov-Dec 2023.
The process aimed to:
(1) identify and analyse the root causes of problems under 10 policy areas;
(2) generate blue sky thinking around how best to tackle those problems; and
(3) review blue sky ideas for feasibility in order to create skeleton plans under each policy area.
Impact
Colleagues deepened their understanding of the problems they tackle in their work by analysing the root causes. Each team developed a clear picture of where they can have most impact, which will inform the Unit’s future work plan. Additionally, the Unit now has a blueprint for moving through a co-productive strategic review process, including recommendations drawn from our observations and learnings.
THEMES
Policy Development